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I know it's been a long time since I traveled, but when did hotels start charging a deposit?
One hotel I called yesterday told me their deposit is $50 per night. WTF?! It's possible the gal misstated herself, but she should know hotel policy.
I'm planning a trip and not to have any unpleasant surprises I'm going to call every hotel I'm interested in staying at and check their deposit policy. What a pain, but better to be safe than sorry.
Hotel security deposits are a way for the hotel to ensure that they have money for any damages that are caused to the hotel room. Unless there are damages to the room, you will receive a 100% refund. As far as I know, there have been any amount of holds to members that haven't damaged their rooms. Its similar when you rent a car. When you return the car after their closing time, you are gone, and who is going to pay for any damages? Same with hotels.
When you pay deposit, you are expecting requests to be guaranteed. It also protects the hotel against overdraft fees if your account has insufficient funds, and guarantees they won't have an empty room, which would cost the hotelier money. Because deposit on nonrefundable rates guarantees that they will get paid even if you don't show up.
There's no single amount that hotels routinely charge, but the amount usually ranges from about $50 to $150. If you're staying at a pricey hotel, you might end up paying much more. Before you hand over your credit card, ask the front desk clerk the precise amount of the per-day hold you have to pay.
Most Hotel add about $50 (hold) to your credit card to handle any incidentals you might spend, above the expected room + tax costs.
If you are paying for the room in cash (real cash), They will request that amount extra for incidentals expenses, and will refund it when you check out. (In addition to what the room + Taxes costs)
Yeah, hotels have always asked for a deposit for incidentals. $50/night is the average for full service hotels. Limited service hotels average around $20/night although some have a flat fee ($50-100)
Some roadside motel chains don't ask for your credit card, so if you've primarily stayed at those types of places in the past, could be why you aren't familiar with incidental holds.
That's actually fairly "low." I'm used to hotels charging me $250 up front as a security deposit. This is regardless of whether I'm staying one night or more. I don't like it, but have come to expect it.
I never pay a hotel deposit. I mostly stay at Starwood hotels, but also stay at others. I have never paid a deposit at a Starwood (Westin, Sheraton, W, etc.)
I never pay a hotel deposit. I mostly stay at Starwood hotels, but also stay at others. I have never paid a deposit at a Starwood (Westin, Sheraton, W, etc.)
They never swipe you card? How do you manage that? I know for a fact Westin, Sheraton, Four Points, and Aloft place a hold on your card when checking in (Aloft in Bangkok even asked for a cash deposit).
Quote:
Originally Posted by prospectheightsresident
That's actually fairly "low." I'm used to hotels charging me $250 up front as a security deposit. This is regardless of whether I'm staying one night or more. I don't like it, but have come to expect it.
I have never seen those types of holds outside of resort areas (LV, Hawaii, etc).
I never seen those types of holds outside of resort areas (LV, Hawaii, etc).
I don't know. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I'm generally booking 2 rooms at a time when booking and being charged that rate (I was the treasurer of a student organization in grad school and was responsible for booking rooms for conferences, etc.). But I always found the deposit to be outrageous.
They never swipe you card? How do you manage that? I know for a fact Westin, Sheraton, Four Points, and Aloft place a hold on your card when checking in (Aloft in Bangkok even asked for a cash deposit)..
I usually stay at Mariott hotels. I have not gotten charged a deposit unless it was a debit card (despite having Visa/MC logo). This is disclosed when you reserve the room.
Generally, when I travel, I try not to use my debit card. Unfortunately that's where the reserves are, so I've had it happen on occasion.
Rental cars? I use National more than others, and they don't charge a deposit. They just put a hold on the total expected amount, so you can't touch it. Once you return the car, the transaction is completed. I actually don't like this approach, but I understand it.
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